Lake Norman Publications

Pine Island’s Kirk wins PGA Club event



Katie Kirk joined Pine Island Country Club last summer. /Courtesy of Katie Kirk

CHARLOTTE – Katie Kirk won the inaugural PGA National Club Championship March 15, finishing the weekend on the famed Pinehurst No. 2 course.

The resident of Pine Island Country Club had a three-day score of 11-over 227, edging out Allison Cooper-Wix of Harrisburg, Pa., by five strokes. Kirk started off the week with two rounds of 74 on Pinehurst No. 6 and No. 8 then finished with a 79.

Pine Island’s Andrew Flaskerud finished sixth in the men’s competition.

Though she appreciated the prestige of No. 2, home to several U.S. Opens, Kirk said she played best on No. 8 since she has experience there from her college career at East Carolina.

“It’s probably one of my favorites, but it’s hard not to pick No. 2, since it’s such a cool experience,” Kirk said. “It’s just a unique course. I’ve always liked the layout on 8. It has some quirky holes to it. I have had a couple of tournaments in juniors and college at 8. So I had some good course knowledge.”

Kirk, a Davidson native and North Mecklenburg graduate, credited her putting and short game for overall success in the tournament. In her final season for the Pirates in 2013-13, she posted a 75.52 stroke average, which ranked fourth on the team and carded a career-low round of 70 twice.

“I knew when ball-striking failed, I wasn’t under a whole lot of pressure,” she said of her recent victory. “It was helping me save par, especially on the second day. On the last day, I started out really strong. The rounds were about six hours, so I started to lose a little bit of focus. My putting and short game was definitely the strongest.”

Though she was officially representing TPC Piper Glen at the tournament, Kirk became a Pine Island member last summer and has made it her exclusive club.

“I love the membership of the club,” Kirk said. “There’s always a lot of fun people to play with, which has been a little bit different for me. This is the first time I’ve valued having great camaraderie on the golf course. The facilities are great, bentgrass greens. Other courses have converted to Bermuda. I’m learning how to score a little bit better, playing this course. I’ve definitely enjoyed it.”

When conquering local and nationally recognized courses Kirk is not brand-loyal. She uses a Ping driver, Titleist fairway woods and Callaway irons.

She said the key to success at Pine Island is putting.

“Since the course isn’t super long, if you have distance, you can get on par 5s in two,” she said. “For the majority of holes, you still have to have course management and make a lot of puts. When I have good rounds, I have to attribute it to making a lot of puts.”

Kirk’s next tournament is in May at the Amateur Golf Alliance amateur at Pinehurst’s Forest Creek Golf Club.

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